It’s amazing how people nowadays see beautiful events like a concert, comedy show, or spoken word presentation through the eyes of their smart phones. As a performer, I see this epidemic steadily and stealthily taking over my live show performances. I understand the need to capture a video here, or a picture there, but the whole show? Really?

I know we live in a world where information sharing is paramount and the need to upload is an itch too hard not to scratch, however, there is magic in being and living in the present. Singing, clapping, and dancing along are slowly becoming a thing of the past, and we must not let that be.

So go out to the next live event and enjoy the moment through our wonderful senses. Feel the beat, move your feet, clap your hands, taste the sound, breathe the air (the air at a Marleys concert might be a little suspect) and just enjoy the moment.

I bet if you asked any of the artists at the 2015 Grammys if they know of Norah Jones, their reply would be a resounding YES.

She is well known, well respected, and very well left alone. You don’t see her every week on people magazine or TMZ. She is obviously a fantastic musician and appears to be a private person. Being a private person too who is on a journey towards becoming a fantastic musician, I crave her kind of success and I’d love it if my career trajectory resembled hers.

In our YouTube and social media crazy climate, there is a real risk of loosing yourself in the hustle for likes and views.

For me, making music out of the love for music versus out of the love for recognition is the key. Don’t get me wrong, there is a business part to the music that can’t be ignored in order to succeed. However, when it becomes all about the business, it corrodes the creativity and passion that led me to becoming a musician in the first place.

So here’s to a 2015 of doing life and music the way that excites me without having to become something I’m not. Here’s to a Nelly’s Echo effect for 2015 and beyond.